BP Settlement Dwarfs Top Product, Toxic Tort Deals

By Erin Fuchs

Law360, New York (March 3, 2012, 12:29 PM ET) -- BP PLC's agreement in principle to shell out at least $7.8 billion to end the bulk of the sprawling litigation over the Deepwater Horizon oil spill eclipses headline-grabbing product liability settlements like the $4.85 billion Vioxx deal and is virtually unprecedented for an environmental toxic tort case, experts in complex litigation said.

BP struck a global settlement on Friday, bringing an end to consolidated claims brought by individuals, businesses and others alleging various injuries stemming from the April 2010 well explosion that sent some 4.9 million...